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Developments
December 2010
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| Greetings!
The DCEDC staff extends to each of you hopes for a joyful holiday season
filled with family, fun, food and frivolity.
We wish you all a safe, healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year! |
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2010 Recap/2011 Forecast
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2010 continued to be challenging for Door County businesses and DCEDC, but it was a year that also saw significant progress on a number of projects and initiatives. 2010 saw the relocation of WireTech Fabricators to the Sturgeon Bay Industrial Park and the start of redevelopment of the former WireTech site for workforce housing. Bay Shipbuilding and their parent company Fincantieri completed construction of the first section of a new floating dry dock, as part of the on-going implementation of the Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding Cluster Master Plan. Almost $9 Million in federal stimulus funds from the Corps of Engineers was used for rebuilding the south wall of the Sturgeon Bay canal and dredging the Sturgeon Bay shipping channel. Therma-Tron-X used revolving loan funds from the City of Sturgeon Bay to purchase new equipment. Click to read a summary of our 2010 Major Accomplishments.
The DCEDC Board of Directors is in the process of establishing our priority strategic objectives for 2011, including working to establish a locally based equity investment fund; implement the final phases of the Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding Cluster Master Plan; partnering with other groups to help strengthen the tourism industry; grow the fledgling Door County Buy Local initiative; explore the feasibility of a Door County Kitchen Incubator; continue the process to have Sturgeon Bay designated as a Coast Guard City; organize and lead the planning and implementation of Legislative Days 2011; create the necessary partnerships towards development of a regional CNC training center; support the redevelopment of the former WireTech site into workforce housing in the Sunset Hills #2 subdivision; and support initiatives of Nsight/Cellcom to improve telecommunications backbone throughout the County. As always, the DCEDC staff will continue to be available to provide on-going guidance and assistance to the entrepreneurs and business owners of Door County. |
| DCEDC Takes Entrepreneurs to the NxLevel - for the 10th Year!
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DCEDC, in association with the UW-Green Bay Small Business Development Center, is proud to sponsor the tenth annual NxLevel™ Entrepreneurial Training course in Door County. Beginning February 28 at NWTC- Sturgeon Bay, this eight-week course takes students through a step-by-step approach to writing a professional business plan. The course is designed for those who are considering starting their own business, existing small businesses struggling to get a handle on all the details or successful businesses looking to grow.
The cost for the NxLevel™ Entrepreneurial Training course is only $250, including books. The course usually costs $1000, however, the Wisconsin Department of Commerce and the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs' Network are offering an Entrepreneurial Training Grant to qualified applicants that covers 75% of the tuition. Registration forms and additional information will be available on the DCEDC website in January.
As a preview to the course, DCEDC will host a free introduction to business-planning seminar, "Starting A Business in Door County," on Monday, February 7, 60in in the DCEDC Conference room (185 East Walnut Street, Sturgeon Bay). This one-evening course will talk about some of the basics that go into a start-up business. The session will also allow interested students to sign up for the NxLevel™ Entrepreneurial Training course and apply for the Entrepreneurial Training Grant. |
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DSL For Northern Door!
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Northern Door residents and business owners have a new local phone service provider. Frontier Communications purchased the territory from Verizon in July 2010. DCEDC and the Door County Visitor Bureau co-hosted a presentation by Frank Maydak, GM-Wisconsin and Rhonda Lutzke, Senior Vice-President for WI-MN-IA-NE for Frontier Communications, to introduce the new company to businesses in Northern Door. We were thrilled when Frontier announced that they will begin offering DSL service to Northern Door in June 2011. With more than 4 million customers in 27 states, Frontier is the largest provider of communications services to rural America.
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Energy Efficiency Upgrade Assiatance
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Businesses interested in upgrading buildings or equipment to improve energy efficiency and significantly lower operating costs should contact Melissa Moren, Energy Services Representative with Sturgeon Bay Utilities (mmoren@wppienergy.org), for information about technical assistance and financial incentives that can help businesses and organizations cover the upfront costs of making electricity-saving or demand-reducing improvements. Initiatives that save energy not only improve the bottom line through cost savings, but also provide a healthier, more comfortable environment for employees and customers. |
NEW Businesses Indicate Improvements
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Northeast Wisconsin businesses saw increased sales revenue and improved profits in 2010, according to a report released by First Business Bank. The First Business Economic Survey of Northeast Wisconsin, sponsored by First Business Bank and conducted by the A.C. Nielsen Center for Marketing Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business, Insight Publications, and NorthStar Economics showed sales revenues jumped 30 percent -from 20 percent in 2009 to 50 percent in 2010. The percentage of firms showing increased profitability increased by 12.5 percent to nearly 45 percent.
"There is an upswing in economic activity," says David Ward, CEO of NorthStar Economics (DCEDC Board Member and Business Development Center client). "While we are certainly not out of the woods yet, these improvements are moving us in the right direction." Click the link above for full survey results. |
Regional Business Plan Competition
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Area entrepreneurs are encouraged to enter the Northeast Wisconsin Business Plan Competition for a chance to win a portion of $25,000 in cash prizes being awarded. The goal of the Competition is to encourage the preparation of business plans for start-up businesses, those making significant changes to existing businesses or launching new products in northeast Wisconsin. Past winners have represented diverse industries from throughout the region and have included Door Landscape of Egg Harbor, Town Accounting of Sturgeon Bay and WaterScape Designs LLC from Forestville. $25,000 in prizes will be awarded with a top prize of $10,000. Second place will receive $6,000; third will receive $4,000; fourth will receive $3,000; and fifth will receive $2,000. Entry forms and specific entry information is available online: http://tinyurl.com/NEWBizPlanContest. Entry deadline is January 10, 2011. |
Board Moves
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The New Year will bring a new member to the DCEDC Board of Directors. We are pleased to welcome Leslie Gast (Baylake Bank) as a voting member of the Board, representing the Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center. Both Bob Starr (ERA Starr and Door County Board of REALTORS) and Greg Stephan (Associated Bank and at-large member) were reelected to the Board. Additionally, all current ex-officio Board members were re-elected: Jim Stawicki (Sturgeon Bay Utilities); Bill Chaudoir (DCEDC); Jack Moneypenny (DCVB); Rob Burke (UW-Ext); Bob Loss (NWTC); Dale Swanson (WPSC); Steve McNeil (City of Sturgeon Bay); Mike Serpe (County of Door); Bob Kufrin (Village of Sister Bay); and Todd Trimberger (SBVC). We are grateful to retiring board member Andrew Starr (ERA Starr Realty and Sturgeon Bay Visitor Center) for his service to DCEDC. |
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